Population aged 70 and older

IBISWorld forecasts the population aged 70 and older to increase by 3.6% during 2023-24, to reach 3,348,446 people. This growth is significantly higher than the overall population growth, a trend which is indicative of Australia's ageing population. This age demographic grew as a share of Australia's population during the COVID-19 pandemic. The lack of net migration had a minor effect on this demographic, relative to others, as most migrant arrivals into Australia are in younger age groups.

The strong growth in this demographic is primarily due to rising life expectancy in Australia. Improvements in healthcare and medical technology are causing people to live longer, contributing to growth in the number of people aged 70 and over. Furthermore, the first members of the baby boomer generation entered this age group in 2016-17, and many more are likely to reach 70 years old in the current year. The baby boomer generation includes people that were born between 1946-47 and 1964-65, when birth rates increased dramatically due to post-war government policies that actively promoted population growth. The proportion of people in this age group relative to the total population is expected to increase from 5.3% in 1970-71 to 12.0% in 2021-22.

Over the past five years, the population aged 70 and over has consistently grown at a faster rate than Australia's total population. Rising life expectancy, due to medical and healthcare developments, has underpinned growth in this demographic, and more people are living to 70 years of age and beyond than ever before. A record number of people are reaching 100 years of age. Overall, IBISWorld forecasts the population aged 70 and older to grow at a compound annual rate of 3.6% over the five years through 2023-24.